Baseball odds may be America’s favorite pastime but there’s no question that online MLB betting makes it all the better. Sportsbook bettors that are new to the scene might be unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the MLB sportsbook scene. So below is a brief guide to bring you up to speed on the basics of MLB baseball betting, odds and different types of betting lines.

How to Bet on MLB Games Online

First things first, you’re going to need to set up an account. Once that’s all done and set up, you’re ready to make some bets on MLB games. However, it’s important to have some basic understanding of how MLB betting lines work and which MLB odds you’ll want to jump on.

Most Common MLB Betting Odds/Lines

The most common MLB betting lines consist of the money line (betting straight up), the run line (betting against the spread), and the over/under (TOTALs). We’ll be taking a look at these individually down below but before we do it’s important to get familiar with MLB betting lines. The line begins on the left with the name of the team followed by the run line, then the over/under and lastly the money line. The run line and over/under have the number at which the line is set followed by the MLB betting odds. The moneyline only shows the odds due to it being straight up.

Betting MLB Money Line

As aforementioned, the MLB moneyline is the last column. Additionally, it is the easiest betting line to understand. When you bet on the moneyline, you are simply betting on one team to beat another. In the above listed example, we can see that the Los Angeles Dodgers open as -230 favorites on the moneyline.

Generally speaking, the vig for the moneyline starts at -110. If a team is likely to win, that number will keep increasing. If they are likely to lose, it will go into the + region. So the Dodgers are -230 favorites, which means that you have to bet $230 dollars in order to be eligible for $100 in winnings. In short, a $230 winning bet on Los Angeles would net you $330 in winnings (the original $230 + the $100 in winnings).

Naturally, taking the underdog offers a much bigger payoff due to the unlikelihood of that coming to fruition. Since the Diamondbacks are facing +210 odds, a $100 bet would offer $210 in winnings. So to recap, if you placed $100 on Arizona and they win, you would receive $310 (the original $100 + the $210 in winnings).

Betting MLB Run Line

The run line is a popular option for MLB betting fans due to the leeway it offers. Instead of picking a team to win the matchup, you’re picking a team to cover the spread. So how does a team cover the spread?

Sticking with the example above, we can see that the run line is set at 1 ½ with the Dodgers being the favorites once again. So in order for Los Angeles to cover the spread, they need to beat Arizona by more than 1 ½ runs. Likewise, if Arizona upsets Los Angeles or if they manage to lose by less than 1 ½ runs, they would have covered the spread. But since Arizona cannot win by less than that amount, they would need to get the upset in order to cover the spread. As long as the Dodgers win by two points here they will have covered the spread.

Betting MLB TOTALs

Betting MLB TOTALs is pretty straightforward as well. Instead of picking a team to win you are simply predicting how many points will be scored in a given game. This takes the points scored by both sides and adds them together. In the example above the over/under is set at 8. If more than 8 points are scored then it went over, if less than 8 then it went under.